June 26, 2016

After
spending the past two summers on my family farm at home, I decided to apply for
the U. S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Summer Internship through the NebraskaCorn Board. To my surprise, I actually got it! Once May rolled around, I packed
up and headed west. Thankfully my parents were able to help me move in to my
new summer home in Denver. Our first day in Denver, John Hinners,
Assistant VP of Industry Relations, showed us around the office and introduced
us to many of the staff members.

I
spent my first two days getting acquainted with the USMEF website, learning
about what they do, and helping employees get ready for the Board of Directors
Meetings. On what would have been my third and fourth days at the office, I
toured Colorado’s beef industry with two Japanese Trade Teams. We visited the
JBS Beef Plant in Greeley, JBS Five Rivers Cattle Company, and finished the day
riding horses at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch in Loveland. The final day we toured
the Cargill Beef Plant in Fort Morgan and Aristocrat Angus in Platteville. I
enjoyed visiting all of these places, because I learned more about each
specific industry and I was able to get to know the Japanese teams.

Horse
Riding with the

Japan Trade Team at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch

I took this on the horse riding trip, these are
beautiful views

After
four days at USMEF, I traveled to St. Louis for the annual Board of Directors
Meeting and Product Showcase. About 250 members and 150 international buyers
attended the meetings to discuss red meat exports. During the meetings, I was
asked to help set up the Foreign Buyers Conference and the Pork Caucus Meeting.
I was able to sit in on the Feedgrain and Oilseed Caucus, where they talked
about how
in 2015, the
red meat exports added $0.45 per bushel to the price of corn. I really enjoyed
being able to attend this year’s meetings, because I was able to network with
industry leaders, meet USMEF staff from around the world, and assist the USMEF
staff. I was also able to have supper with the Nebraska Corn Board staff,
board members, and past USMEF chairman from Nebraska, Mark Jagels.

I
am very fortunate to work in an office that is filled with skilled, passionate,
and helpful employees. I'm really looking forward to what the rest of the
summer has in store for me, and how this experience will be very beneficial for
my future in the agricultural industry.